I was just wondering how high our railroad modelers were making their trestles. I would love to have something like John Allen's but I inherited a train table with a gorge already in the plan. I have been playing around with raising one track above the table which can accomodate a height of 7 1/2 inches on one end of the gorge and 8 1/2 inches on the other end of the gorge. I would love to heard some conversation in regard to the height of your trestles and any other tidbits of information. I just think mine should be higher.
Trestles. How high?
- Thread starter XavierJ123
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well, I'm planning a Cantilevered girder bridge instead, and I'm planning 10" from bottom of the deck to the top of the water (crossing a river). which in N sclae is about 130 ft of clearance for boats.
Really depends on where and what the bridge is crossing as to how high or how low you wish it to be. is the gorge like the grand canyon? or more like a mississippi crossing? a grandcanyon crossing would be more flat on the approach, while the mississippi appraoches would rise to clear the flood banks and make clearance for shipping lanes.
Really depends on where and what the bridge is crossing as to how high or how low you wish it to be. is the gorge like the grand canyon? or more like a mississippi crossing? a grandcanyon crossing would be more flat on the approach, while the mississippi appraoches would rise to clear the flood banks and make clearance for shipping lanes.
I am planning a wooden trestle that will be 6" high.
Don't forget I model N Scale, so that would be 80'
Don't forget I model N Scale, so that would be 80'
Unless you want to go below the level of you bench work, the height of your trestle will be limited by the maximum grade and length of track you have to climb. Even at 4%, it takes a lot of footage to climb very far. Just crossing over another track requires almost 16' (up and down) plus transitions. My entire HO layout was designed to provide the maximize height for a trestle above the benchwork. I managed to get 11.5" (83 scale feet) above what will be the final water surface elevation below . I didn't want to cut into the benchwork, but did cheat by starting the "ground level" on foam 2" above the water surface. I also have two other trestles about 5'" tall.
Doc
Doc
Hmmm, how can I explain this? I guess my layout will not be very realistic in as much as I am going to simply raised an oval track as high as possible in the center of the layout. I saw a picture of one on line and it looked quite good if not atypical. A dry gorge similiar to the Red River Gorge that we have in Kentucky will be beneath. I use to think all rivers were wide and deep like the Ohio until I learned the definition of a river was determined by its' length. So I have no problem with a dry river bed/gorge. In fact, I plan to cover the river bed with Oklahoma red clay that I brought back from a vacation out West 30 years ago. I knew I would have a use for it some day. LOL There is another problem. There is a proposed track that runs under the trestle. I don't think this was ever done. Was it?
This one on our club layout scales out at about 160' tall, the outside limit for a trestle in real life. To the rear, the bridge is crossing a falls that drops into a gorge that the trestle crosses. In real life it would not be unusual for a trestle to cross another track. Because they were high maintenance and prone to fire, trestles were often temporary affairs, the railroads would eventually fill in the gaps with carload after carload of fill dirt, placing smaller, stronger bridges and abutments where necessary.
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Thanks for the trestle comments. I really appreciate your input. I wonder what scale Doc Holiday models in?? I have temporarily raised my track 12 inches high above the table. Boy that sure looks high. Good thing a passenger train doesn't run up there because the passengers might get woosy if they look down.
SAL Comet said:
It was made by one of the members, Dave McCue. He sawed all his own stripwood, buying basswood blocks from Mitchel's Crafts and cutting it on his table saw. The kerf of the blade consumed horrific amounts of the wood but was still way cheaper than buying strip wood in bulk. Sorry to say he passed away two years ago, only a couple months before I joined the club. The passenger train was originally his and now an honored member of my roster. Next chance I get, I'll take a full shot of it
Like the song says... There's something women like about an HO man.Will_annand said:
I've added a pic of my bridge and trestles in this thread http://www.the-gauge.com/showthread.php?t=14193
Doc